


Penultimate

by teuklberries



Category: K-pop, NCT (Band), NCT 127 - Fandom
Genre: End of the World, Gentle Romance, M/M, Other, Philosophy, Sad, Soft Apocalypse, a bit - Freeform, fluff?, soft?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:28:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28250175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teuklberries/pseuds/teuklberries
Summary: "Did you ever consider, that the end of the world could be so peaceful?""No, not really. I thought it might be a little more grand than this."
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Penultimate

**Author's Note:**

> im super fucking depressed right now and writing this was ultimately therapeutic, so if it feels a little dark that's why. happy reading.

"Did you ever consider, that the end of the world could be so peaceful?"

Jaehyun thought about it, just for a second.

The truth was, he had considered it for a brief time but he had never really thought it would come to fruition. He thought maybe there would have been more fire, disease, maybe something a little biblical in its style.

"No, not really. I thought it might be a little more grand than this." Jaehyun mused, his eyes scanning the horizon slowly, he was searching for something, something not really there. "I thought there would be some fire, maybe angels with a thousand eyes, you know?"

Doyoung hummed thoughtfully, gazing into the distance wistfully as Jaehyun. He shifted a little along the bench to lay his head comfortably on Jaehyun's shoulder, the rough fabric of his worn out jacket scratching at Doyoung's cheek.

"I always thought it would be the poles reversing, climates changing, monkeys evolving to sentience. Something crazy like that." Doyoung said with a chuckle. "But here we are, sitting on a bench, looking at not much of anything left behind, all because... because no reason. We just stopped." He paused for a second to ponder the situation, or to let Jaehyun interject, if he felt like it. "We just gave up, for no reason."

Jaehyun nodded, a few strands of loose hair tickled his forehead as the wind danced by, a quiet whisper that caressed the softest parts of his face. He brought a hand up to rest on Doyoung's hair, fingers starting to card through the latter's hair on reflex, as they had thousands of times before.

"I think that sometimes, it all just becomes too much. Have you ever heard of the great filter?" Jaehyun asked softly. Doyoung shook his head, try as he might he couldn't remember ever hearing about a great filter, among everything he had learned when the internet still held the world in an iron fist.

"It was the theory that we had never found aliens because at a certain point, a species meets a challenge that can wipe them clear from their world. To make it through the filter was to survive the challenge, if you don't make it through, that is the extinction event. Much like what we've seen happen this year." Jaehyun spoke slowly, savouring his time, his voice thick like honey. Doyoung nodded against Jaehyun's shoulder, digesting the idea of the filter being a real concept, rather than the musings of some bored philosopher from a century long forgotten.

"Do you think this is it? The filter, I mean. Do you think this is our failure?" Doyoung said gently. Jaehyun thought for a second, the lines of his forehead creased ever so slightly as his eyebrows furrowed and unforrowed.

"Maybe, who's to tell, really?" He said eventually. "I think it could be, but there's no reason to believe this is unsalvagable. Humanity has proven itself strong a thousand times before, maybe the final glowing ember will birth a new strength and humans will carry on as they have for so many millennia. Maybe the embers will fade and die, humanity with it. I couldn't tell you for sure."

Doyoung shifted again and brought and arm up, his hand resting on Jaehyun's chest. He closed his eyes, finding comfort in Jaehyun's ever familiar scent.

"If this is the fading ember, will you stay here, right on this bench with me, until the light goes out?" Doyoung whispered. Jaehyun leant down to press a kiss to the top of Doyoung's head, the soft and overgrown strands of Doyoung's hair tickling the tip of his nose.

"If this is the fading ember, I will stay right here with you until the cosmos sweeps us into the dustpan and throws us into the ashbin outside the shed." Jaehyun whispered back, his voice bringing a warm, secure feeling to Doyoung's heart.

They sat for a while, until the night sky became dark and the stars showed themselves for the trillionth time, just quietly observing the world as it went by, its emptiness, its unkempt branches and sticks and vines twirling around buildings and lamp-posts, the absence of humanity ever obvious in the forest that took ahold of a once bustling city. If this was the filter, the failure, the last ember in a fireplace, Jaehyun could think of no better way to fade out than right there, right on that bench with Doyoung, right up until the light went out.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed
> 
> kofi link: https://ko-fi.com/mars_127
> 
> curcious cat link: https://curiouscat.qa/tyongieberry


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